Psst, my parents are spies
by KsenyaKavva
Summary: I am Cammie, and my parents are spies. I go to an ordinary high school and hang up with ordinary girls, trying to cover up the fact that I speak 8 languages and move to a different country every year. And who knows- maybe I will also become a spy one day.
1. On to a new life

Damn. I am really tired, but I can't fall asleep.

I am starting a new school tomorrow, so I'm really nervous. So far, I switched eight schools. It is mostly because of my parents' work- they have to move to a different country every year. They are spies. Well, I am not really supposed to tell you this. So far, we lived in Sweden, Canada, Russia, France, Spain, Israel, China, and now we moved to New Jersey. After living in all these countries I speak eight languages, and it's a little hard to cover it up. But this year I will spend in the United States, speaking English. Not that bad.  
At first when I found out when my parents are spies I was excited- who wouldn't be? An eleven year old girl is told that her parents have to find out secret information and catch bad guys; of course she would be shocked. But there was the deal: We had to move every year, in terms of keeping it all in secret. I never was allowed to tell my friends about my parents' job, but we tried to cover it up saying that my mom is a doctor and my dad teaches chemistry at Jefferson High. My friends didn't really care as long as I invited them to sleepovers once in a while and hanged out with them.

My name is Cameron. My closest friends call me Cammie. I am fourteen, and in five and a half hours I will have to go to a new school where I don't know anyone. Not to say that I'm THAT nervous- after all, I started a new school eight times in my life. Tomorrow I am going to high school, and my parents keep saying that this will be the best experience of my life, but I doubt it- I mean, I will move in a year anyway. Lose my friends. But again, I am used to it. I guess you start getting "adapted" to moving every year. That was one of the reasons I didn't make that many friends in the past years of my exciting life- I was afraid to lose them, as I knew I would. One of my only friends was Hanna- a very quiet and gentle girl whom I met when we lived in Sweden. She was very pale, with long blond hair and big gray eyes. We spent the 5th grade together- doing homework, going out to the mall and eating strawberry ice-cream. We shared secrets and told each other everything, but I couldn't tell her the main secret- about my parents. When I told her that I have to leave at the end of the year, she gave me a necklace with a tiny flower. She said that she wants me to keep it, as a sign of our friendship. Since then I only take that necklace off when I go to the shower. I will never forget Hanna, and swore that I will keep the necklace forever.

I got off my bed and went downstairs to grab a snack. I won't fall asleep anyways.

The whole house is a chaos. Since we moved in only two weeks ago, we didn't have time to open any of the packages. Basically, it takes us half a year to open everything and organize the house, and the next half a year we are busy packing everything up again. I guess it is not that big of a deal if you have elder siblings to help you, but I am the only child. Well, as a matter of fact I have a brother, but he lives in Virginia. He is in college right now, so he couldn't keep moving with us. He changed his last name (again, for safety- and I am pretty immature as I don't understand why my biological brother should change his last name), and he comes to visit us once in a while.

I opened the refrigerator and poured myself a glass of orange juice. I heard footsteps from the stairs.

"Cam, go to bed. I know you are nervous, but it's not a reason to wake everyone up at 2 am in the morning" -my mom said.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to wake you up."

She hugged me.

"You will get adapted, don't worry. It's not the first time. You will have a lot of friends, you can invite anyone over."

"Mom, I will have to leave at the end of the year. It's not worth it. Making friends and then moving to a different country? What kind of person does that?"

"A person whose parents have an important job. Cammie, we already talked about it. I think you are grown up enough to understand it. And besides, I still don't know where we are going to move next year. Maybe we will just be sent to a different state- you could keep in touch with your friends then."

"I guess so."- I just didn't want to fight with her. Not right now.

"Now, go to bed. You have a very important day tomorrow"

"Good night, mom"- I hugged her.

"Good night, sweetie."

As I went upstairs I decided to talk to Hanna- the only friend I kept in touch with up till now. I realized I wouldn't wake her up if I called, since it's morning in Sweden right now. But still I decided to chat- who knows, maybe she's not next to her phone right now. I logged in.

"Hey Hanna!"-I typed. "How are you? Excited for school?"

I learned Swedish when I lived there, but I still felt more comfortable speaking English. Hanna didn't mind- she spoke English even better than me.

"Cammie! I miss you so much! I wish you would come back"- she replied. "The school is not the same without you."

Wow, it certainly was supposed to make me feel better.

"I wish I would come back, too."- I typed back. "How was your summer? Did you do anything special?"

"No, not really. Went to visit my grandmother, and then came back. My parents made me study for the rest of the summer. They said high school will determine my future…"

"You know it's true, Hanna."

"I know…"

I never told Hanna about my parents and their work. Like everyone else she thought that I moved in order to get a higher education in a better school. She was one of my best friends who told me everything, and I felt really bad not telling her my secret. But I couldn't. I swore that I wouldn't tell, and I didn't.

"Remember Alice? The blond girl who was always teasing you? She is going out with Lucas now. Two months already", - said Hanna.

"Wow…"

We didn't have that much to talk about already. It's true, I haven't seen her for three years, and although we tried to update each other about everything, we couldn't. Hanna is busy- she is going to be an actress, so she goes to a theater club four times a week. She takes it very seriously. Well, knowing Hanna, she takes everything seriously. I'd say she has a big chance to become a very good actress one day. Back then when we were eleven years old, we would act out our favorite parts from different books- Hanna did it very well, and often I would sit for hours watching her becoming a wizard, an animal, a princess, an old lady or a little girl. She was so good she could make me laugh for a long time.

"Hey Cam, I gotta go. Dinner time", - Hanna typed. For a moment I was confused- it was two o'clock in the morning. But in Sweden it was already dinner time, I guess.

"Bye, I miss you"- I answered and logged off.

I closed my laptop and crawled into my bed. "I have to sleep for at least a couple of hours," I said to myself. Otherwise I'll be too tired and will start speaking French at school tomorrow. And who will believe then that my mom is a doctor?..


	2. A lunch bag, Mexico and Shannon Kelly

"Cameron Alicia McKinley! If you don't get downstairs in three minutes, I will come upstairs and make you wake up!"- I heard my mom screaming from the kitchen.

"That's it", I thought to myself, yawning and stretching. "I shall never go to sleep later than... later than...than… than…"

"Cam!"

"Coming!"

I jumped off my bed, grabbing a pair of jeans and a t-shirt, and ran downstairs.

"Cammie, how many times do I have to call you? Are you crazy?"

"I'm sorry mom… What do we have for breakfast?"

"Cereal"- she pointed to a bowl. "I'll drive you to school, you are late to your bus anyway. But I don't want this happening again, is this clear?"

Ten minutes later, when I quickly finished my breakfast, brushed my teeth and grabbed a sandwich for lunch from the refrigerator, mom was already more on the nerves that I was. I crawled into the car, as she kept saying that it's very irresponsible to be late on the first day of school, how my grades will build my future, and how she hopes that I won't get into a bad company of kids, ending up smoking and drinking on a street.  
I know my mom is a spy, and she is supposed to be pretty cool. As a matter of fact, she is- but not when it comes to taking care of me. Since she can't control my older brother anymore, she spends her free time with me (which she doesn't have a lot anyway, so I guess I am pretty lucky).

"Have a great day, Cam. I'll pick you up after school"-she said, as we stopped near the school entrance.

"No mom, it's fine, thanks. I'll walk. It's not that far anyway. Bye."

Here it is. High School.

As I looked around, I saw everyone greeting each other, hugging, screaming and laughing. I didn't that I belong in here. But do I have a choice? No. I don't.

As I entered my homeroom and found a place to sit, I looked at my schedule. Overall there was nothing I didn't expect to see: geometry, English, science, gym, Spanish, lunch, study hall, advanced computer animation and history. My favorite subject is probably science, history being my least favorite. I never liked history for as long as I could remember myself, considering the fact that as we moved each year I had to learn the history of every single one of those countries.

The bell rang as the homeroom started. A middle-aged woman with black ponytail started reading names, as she was placing us in the alphabetical order. I don't get it- we are in high school, and we still sit in alphabetical order? Where is the logic?  
I was placed behind a girl named Shannon Kelly. She was rather short, quiet, with curly light brown hair. As the teacher continued to read names, she was sitting calmly and reading a book.

"Hey, I'm Cammie," – I introduced myself, slightly poking her in the back.

The girl turned around. "I'm Shannon". She examined my face for a couple of seconds and then said, "I've never seen you around in the middle school before. Are you new?"

"I am", I said. "I have…a very diverse background."

"Cool", she replied, and went back to reading a book.

Later at lunch, when I started panicking that I have no one to sit with, I remembered about this girl. She was sitting with two girls, whom I saw in some of my classes. I quickly walked towards them, as someone hit my shoulder, screaming "sorry!", and the next thing I knew I was laying on the floor with a sandwich on my face.

"Oh my god, Cammie, are you alright?"- Shannon gave me her hand and helped me to get up.

"Yeah, thanks."- I tried to seem cool, but it was kinda hard- I grabbed the sandwich off my face and saw everyone staring at me. Great. This is how the first day of school supposed to be. Now for the rest of my life everyone will remember me as "the falling lunch bag" or something. That's certainly a good start for the high school.

Twenty minutes later, sitting behind a very tall blond guy in Spanish class I realized that my year is going to be a total waste. The teacher, an old lady named Mrs. Martinez, kept talking about the importance of the class, and referred to us by Spanish names. As I was doodling a flower on the back of my notebook, I heard "Cameron? Answer my question!"  
Confused, I looked at the teacher and heard my classmates trying to whisper the answer in a cavemen Spanish. Trying to stay as calm as I could, I said: "Lo siento, señora, no he oído la pregunta. ¿Podría repetirlo, por favor?"  
As the class went "Ohhh!...", the teacher looked amused. She looked at me and said "Cammie, why are you in this class? This is a class for beginners. You certainly took Spanish before. Do you speak Spanish at home?"  
No, no, no, no, million times no! I speak eight languages at home, but how could I tell her that? I had to make something up really fast.  
"I lived in Mexico before me and my family came here."  
"Well, I have to talk to the principal about that. You can't waste your time in this class."

_Not a lie. _I thought.

Later that day, in gym, there was a total chaos. For some reason, the older you get, the more childish you become. I mean, seriously- you have at least four hundred teenagers running around in circles and screaming random names while greeting each other. This made me sick, I guess mainly because I didn't have any friends yet.  
"So it seems like we won't get to exercise today", I thought. After the teachers came and took the attendance, it was announced that we have a free period, since it's the first day of school. We were allowed to seat on the bleachers and talk.  
A short, black-haired girl turned around and said "Hey, I'm Allie."  
I did not realize she was talking to me, so I stared at her for a couple of minutes before I decided to introduce myself as well.  
"I'm Cammie", I said.

"And this is Jessica, Natalie and Eva"- the girl introduced her friends. They smiled at me, as I smiled back.

"Are you new to the district?" –Eva asked.

Oh wow, here it comes again.

"Well, yes, I came from...eh…"

"Didn't you come from Mexico? That's what I heard you saying in Spanish class, right?"

Here you go. When you make up stories, you gotta make sure you learn them by heart and stick to them. Or else…

"Yes, I did. Just last month"

"Oh…Your accent is so…different."

I gently smiled and looked away. The last thing I wanted to talk about right now is my very diverse background.

When the last period, history, was over, I went to my locker and loaded it with all the books. Then, remembering that I had homework in all of those subjects, I grabbed them and stuffed them in my backpack. This is crazy. The school barely started, and we have so much homework?

If it's going to be like this every day, I thought to myself, I am going to have to drop off school. And maybe one day I will be a spy, like my mom. It seems like a cool job, not that you need to know functions and Andrew Jackson's history for that. Might as well drop off now. But again, do I have a choice?...


	3. Aunt Louise and soap operas

Going through the same classes everyday and meeting the same people I slowly started getting used to the school. I mean, true, I've seen lots of schools in my life, but I never had to dissect a chicken leg for a lab report for my science class, present an imaginary world in history, write a holocaust poem for English, describe methods of suicide in health and act out my favorite verb in Spanish. I'm sure that sounds a little creepy, but after a while you get used to it. After all, it could've been worse.

On one of those typical days, when all I could think about is going home and getting some good sleep, I noticed a new girl. True- having nearly two thousand students flooding the hallways between classes I would obviously notice a new girl. She came to my Spanish class, looking a little lost and holding a schedule in her hand. That is when I started to feel a little professional- you know, finally not being the only one who is new to the school.

"Class, this is Andrea, she will join us from now till the rest of the year."

The girl sat down right next to me. She was very quiet, but I guess anyone would be, if they were new. She curiously looked around, looking really nervous about not knowing anyone. When the bell rang, I walked towards her.

"Hey, I'm Cammie. I see you are new to the class."

"Yeah", said Andrea and smiled. "I came from a different school."

I noticed something in this girl right away. She was not like my other friends. She certainly was very pretty- tall, with dark eyes and long black hair that she braided and put up. She was very neatly dressed, holding to an elegant purse. She had a charming smile and definitely was a person I would love to be friends with.

"What do you have next period?" I asked.

"Well…" she looked at her schedule, and said "I have study hall."

"Me too".

Throughout the day, I've seen her in the hallways a couple of times, always standing straight up tall and with a smile. Remembering myself on the first day, I was trying to be the least noticeable I could be. "She is different" I thought to myself as I was stuffing the books in my backpack again, from one side happy to finally get home, from the other- terrified by the amount of homework I will have to do for tomorrow.

As I got home, I saw my parents sitting downstairs in the kitchen and talking. "This couldn't be good" I thought, as they noticed me and waved for me to come sit with them.

"What happened?" I asked.

Mom closed the windows and lowered her tone.

"Cammie, your father and I have to go on a mission. Of course, I can't tell you exactly where we are going, but we are going to be away for quite a long time."

"How long?" I asked, trying to seem calm, but inside I really wasn't.

"A month at least. And then we'll see."

I was ready to jump on their necks, promising to behave well.

"But obviously you can't stay here all alone for the whole month".

The balloon of happiness, that was filling me from the inside, exploded.

"What? Of course I can! I can cook. And you know I never play with fire, I never lay in bath for more than thirty minutes, I always turn off the lights and wash the dishes, I…"

"Cameron, it's the matter of having a responsible grown-up in the house while we are away. This was a deal between us that we decided on years ago, and you promised to listen to us".

"But dad, I am fourteen now and…"

"It doesn't matter. Your aunt Louise will come over tomorrow and she will stay with you till we come back."

I ran upstairs and shut the door to my room. I felt like a baby that was supposed to be watched, every single step of my life. I am responsible; I can handle everything on my own. Well, maybe except for that time when I took a very long bath and fell asleep; and then ended up flooding the living room underneath. But I certainly can survive a month without the annoying aunt Louise, who keeps watching soap operas all day long and insists on me eating my vegetables ever day, as it will make me "grow strong and become a beautiful woman". As to that, I doubt that veggies can transform a pimpled, way too tall for her age and very awkward teenage girl into a "swan", as she refers to my future look sometimes.

I phoned Andrea and told her the whole story.

"Cammie, don't make a big deal out of it. At least you get a whole month with no parents watching over you".

"Well, my aunt is worse. She won't make me do anything that in some way can harm me. She doesn't even let me use a knife when I'm eating- she just cuts the food for me. The next thing I'm gonna know is she'll chew this food for me. It's just not right".

I was totally sure that I heard her giggling, but as she started talking again, her voice was completely calm.

"It's not that bad. I will come over and watch that she doesn't babysit you too much. It's going to be alright".

"I hope so…" I said. "See you tomorrow".

"Bye, good luck".

The next day in school I was completely on my nerves and all I could think about is aunt Louise. Sure, this is going to be a very fun month…

Later that day, trying to concentrate on a group project in history class, I was flipping the pages of the history book without even thinking of what I am doing. My group was really boring- Victoria, a very popular girl in the school who, however, knows history at a level of a first grader. Sarah, her friend, who somewhat can help us with the project, but the two constantly keep talking, and Ryan, a tall, dark-haired guy who looked absolutely bored and was half asleep, trying to figure out the circumstances of the election of 1848.

"Hey, can I have a pen?" he asked.

"Sure" I said, opened my pencil case and gave it to him.

He took it and started randomly doodling on the worksheet. "I guess I am the only one working in this group" I thought. I couldn't afford myself a bad grade on this presentation, as my grades were bad enough already.

"Hey guys, listen, we really should start working…"

"Cammie, no one cares about this presentation. In fact, no one cares about this class. I would already drop out if I could."- said Sarah, brushing through her hair.

"So you want a bad grade? You want to fail?" I asked angrily.

"We told you already, we don't care."

"I don't want to fail." Ryan suddenly joined the discussion. "Cammie, let's work on the project. I will be online today."

I was surprised. Ryan totally didn't seem like a working-kind of guy, but I agreed.

When I came home that day and saw aunt Louise waiting for me in the kitchen with a plate of vegetables cut into tiny pieces, I wanted to run away and never come back. She drives me crazy, my aunt Louise. As I calmly ate my dinner and went upstairs, claiming that I have a lot of homework, I remembered about Ryan. This quite, shy guy, who actually wanted to help me with the project.

"He still didn't give me my pen back," I thought, and smiled to myself.


	4. I think I'm in love

Tired, I sat by the computer and logged in. Ryan was online, just like he promised.

"Hey" he said.

"Hey" I answered. "You've got all the worksheets for the project?

"Eh… no… I think I left it in my locker…" he replied after a while. "Can I come over?"

"Hold on."

I ran downstairs. Aunt Louise was watching another one of her favorite soap operas, holding to a piece of tissue. I giggled.

"Aunt Louise, can one of my friends from school come over? We have to work on a history project."

She slowly turned her head, thinking, and then said "Yes, but not for a long. You have to eat dinner soon."

I went back to my room and typed "Yeah, sure."

In fifteen minutes, while I still was trying to create a working area on my desk, that was completely covered with books, pencils, pieces of notes that I kept from my conversation with Andrea during Spanish class, my mom's instructions to Aunt Louise about taking care of me for the next month (which I never gave to her, as I "forgot"), earphones and my friends' cell phone numbers, the door bell rang so suddenly that I dropped a math book on my foot.  
Spitting "ohh, damn", I ran downstairs and screamed to Aunt Louise "I'll get it".

I looked like a red-faced monster with my hair all messed up as I opened the door and, trying to calm down my breath, said "hey!"

"Hey Cam. Is everything alright?" he asked, looking a little confused.

"Yeah, totally" I said. "Let's go upstairs; I have some ideas for the project."

"Well, I was thinking we can do a skit, acting out the election" he said.

"That's a great idea. Did you start writing it down yet?"

"No. I was hoping you could help me." He smiled.

"Well, it's not that bad", I was thinking an hour later, when we were almost done with developing ideas and writing them down, arguing over parts and characters, and then acting it out. "At least we are done with the project".

"Cammie, the election has nothing to do with slaves, it only…"

"Of course it does! There was the expansion of suffrage. And besides, the slaves were in the South, and…"

"Okay, you want slaves to be a part of our skit? Who will get their roles, Sara and Victoria?"

We both laughed.

"You are right. I give up."

He looked over the 3-pages skit that we finished working on. "It's really good. We will get at least an A on it. Good job, Cam!"

"You too, Ryan. Thanks for not letting me fail this."

"Well then…I should probably…"

"Okay…"

As I went with him downstairs, witnessing another portion of tears over the television by my aunt, I opened the door.

"It was fun working with you." I smiled.

"You too."

He was just about to leave, as he remembered something. He searched in his pockets, and took out my pen that I gave him earlier.

"Here you go. Sorry for that. See you tomorrow!" He smiled, and left.

I went back upstairs to finish my homework, but over and over again I found myself thinking about Ryan, and not being able to concentrate on the structure of cells and congruent triangles.

Who exactly is this guy? I've never noticed him around before, except for being in the same history class as me. He is very tall, and I guess you could say good-looking. His hair is rather short and brown, and he has gray eyes. He is always very quiet, or maybe he is just tired. He has an adorable smile, which he doesn't show too often though. After another hour, when I finally understood that there is no way I will be able to concentrate on my homework, I decided to call Andrea.

"Hey Andie, what's up?" (I decided that calling her Andrea every time would be a little too complicated for my diverse accent.)

"Hey Cam. Nothing, just finished my homework. Didn't have that much though. Are you done with yours?"

"No, I can't concentrate…"

"What's wrong? I thought you were working with Ryan on your history project. Did you finish?"

"Er, yeah. We did. It's just…Do you have any classes with him?"

"Umm… No, only lunch. For god's sake, Cammie, what happened between you two?"

"I think I like him."

Silence.

"Well…That's really sweet, but…You barely know him, don't you?"

"Yeah" I sighed. "Andrea, I don't know what to do. I can't get him out of my head."

"Cam, just wait. Let it settle for a couple of weeks, and then see what you feel. Alright?"

"Yeah. Thanks. See you in school tomorrow."

"Bye".

I opened my geometry book and thought that Andrea is very right. I barely know him, so I shouldn't waste my time on it. After all, I have much more important things to worry about.

The next day at school was rather weird. Something was wrong with Andrea- looking pretty every single day, today she went above and beyond anything I would've expected. She curled her hair, and it lay beautifully on her shoulders. She was wearing a very sweet blue mini dress with leggings, high heel shoes and had noticeable makeup on.

As I stared at her for a couple of minutes, she started panicking.

"Oh my god Cammie, what is it? My hair, right? I knew I should've not curled it. Is my makeup alright? Cam?..."

"Andrea, you look gorgeous."

She blushed. "You think so? I wish he would think the same way…" she said, and stopped herself, but I was already determined to find out the rest.

"Who? Tell me! Do I know him? Is he in our school? Since when?..." I threw my questions at her.

She lowered her voice.

"Cammie, you gotta promise me you're not telling anyone, but I think I am in love."

"So I've noticed." I said, looking at her outfit and hair once again. "With whom?"

"I…I don't think you know him, Cam, I just think that…"

"What's his name?" I asked again. I am not giving up.

"I will come over today and tell you, okay?"

"Andrea…"

"I promise."


	5. Mixed letters for a teenage soul

Half an hour later, when I already ate lunch, washed the dishes and was done with my homework, desperately waiting for Andrea to come, the doorbell rang. I ran to the door.

"Aunt Louise, it's for me!" I yelled to her, as she stood up from the couch.

I opened the door.

"Andrea, finally. Let's go to my room."

She went upstairs, as I grabbed a snack from the kitchen and joined her. We entered my room and I shut the door.

"Tell me!"

"Well… His name is Michael." She blushed, and sat down on my bed. "He is just so… so…"

"Adorable?" I tried.

We both laughed. "Yeah." She said.

"Oh, wait, Michael Brown? He is in my history class. Like Ryan. Weird, right?"

Andrea looked puzzled. "Your history class? Wow, Cammie, I should've been in that class."

"Yeah, you should've. Too bad the board of education doesn't consider students' wishes." I said, and we both fell on the bed laughing. I went downstairs and made some popcorn, and for the rest of the evening we watched movies in my room. I started to admire my aunt- after all, she was quietly sitting downstairs (quiet, that is- sobbing for another dying character in her soap opera).

The next day at lunch I sat with Andrea, Shannon, Natalie, Allie and Eva- as usual, actually. Eva, a nice blond-haired girl who somewhat reminded me of my best friend Hannah, was showing everyone a new trick she learned- she put a coin in her lunchbag, blew it and then popped it on someone's head, demonstrating that a coin disappeared. Not to say that it was a very amusing activity, but as long as it didn't involve my head, I was more than fine with it.

"Cammie…That one?.. Why…her…?" I heard a part of a conversation, involving my name, from the table behind us."

I turned around and saw a company of guys who, when they noticed me watching them, looked away. Ryan was among them.  
I turned back to Andrea, as nothing happened. Why are guys so weird? Acting like aliens.

Later that day, in gym, while epically failing at doing pushups with Shannon, I noticed Ryan. How come I've never noticed him before? Isn't this weird? I turned to Shannon.

"Hey, you know this guy, Ryan?"

"Yeah." She said. "I've known him since the first grade".

"Oh. I see."

"Why?"

"Just wondering."

"You sure?"

"Yeah!"

"Okay."

She is just like that, Shannon. She would be suspicious about those little things, but as soon as you tell her that it's nothing, she just leaves it alone. I like this trait of hers.

In history, we finally got to present out history project. Of course, Victoria and Sarah, who had nothing to do with the skit me and Ryan worked on, knew nothing about the topic, although read their parts out loud to the class. Me and Ryan giggled all the way through.

"And thus, the election shows how political parties can help but also harm each other." I finished out presentation.

"Very, very good! You may sit down. I'll give you your grades next Tuesday."

I sat down, smiling about our success. It was good. We passed. I can breathe again.

Till the end of the class, as we listened to others' presentations, I mindlessly doodled in my notebook. I wasn't paying attention to what was happening around me at all. Suddenly, I got the feeling that someone is watching me.

I guess being born to spy parents, you have to have certain traits that make you special. As long as I can remember myself, I never noticed myself being extremely different from my classmates. Except for one time in fifth grade, when I figured out that my parents are spies, I was so shocked, that the next day when someone poked me on the back, I turned around and knocked him down in one move, later realizing he was a tenth-grader. Not that it has to do something with being a spy, I've never even took martial arts before. So now, sitting in history class, where it feels like you can touch the tension of silence and boredom, I got that feeling of someone watching me. Not just watching, but _studying. _Like when you look at something very interesting to you in particular.  
Without moving or lifting a pencil from my notebook, I crossed my eyes to the left, where I felt the look came from. It was Ryan, and as soon as he saw me looking back at him, he turned away.

This is just not right. First I hear him talking about me, and then this. Guys are complicated, seriously- what is all this supposed to mean?

As I came home that day, I called Andrea and told her to come over. When she came, I told her what happened. She didn't say anything for a couple of minutes, and then she quietly said "He likes you, Cam."

I was surprised. "Me? But why me? There are so many pretty girls, like you and Shannon, and besides…"

"Cammie. Shut up." She smiled and hugged me.

"How is Michael?" I asked.

Andrea sighed.

"Michael?.. He drives me crazy. He keeps looking at me, but…I don't know. I'm so confused. Guys are confusing."

"Welcome to the club" I said, and we both laughed.

What Andrea told me certainly changed me point of view. The next day I was looking for him, trying to guess if he was looking back. True- maybe I am becoming desperate with that, but when a guy looks at you forty-five minutes in a row and trying to make you laugh by making silly faces, you should start being concerned. By the end of the day I found myself writing "Ryan" all over my notebook, without even thinking.

Throughout the next week, homework assignments, projects, quizzes and tests came in an unbelievable amount. I was solving math problems till midnight, then reading chapters from literature book for English, memorizing names and dates for history and writing lab reports for science. The only subject that required totally no effort for me was Spanish, as the teacher decided to leave me in the same class with Andrea, to be a "wonderful example for others". I didn't mind- it was so easy for me that I finished the homework five minutes after Mrs. Martinez assigned it.

But still, this whole time Ryan didn't leave my mind. True, I somehow managed to get an A+ on my geometry test (and, of course, I got a sticker on my paper. This certainly shows how grown-up and mature the teachers think we are).

One day, doing a warm-up in gym, Shannon asked me who I liked.

"Why do you think that I like someone?" I asked.

"You just look like you do."

That was certainly a funny statement.

"Well…he…"

"At least tell me how many letters are in his name and last name."

I counted. Ryan Finn. 9 letters.

"Nine", I said. "Who do _you _like?"

"No one." She blushed, and started doing jumping jacks.

"Of course you do."

"Do not."

"Do too!"

She was quiet for a moment, and then said "Thirteen letters."

I looked puzzled. Who can it be? Michael Brown? No, his name is only twelve letters.

I kept thinking about it throughout the gym class, when I suddenly remembered that Ryan had a middle name- his friends were sometimes calling him Tyler. Terrified, I counted again. Ryan Tyler Finn. Thirteen.

"Shannon? Does…does this guy you like have a middle name Tyler? Just out of curiosity."

She blushed harder this time, which was a sure sign for me.

"Maybe." She said.

"You do realize we like the same guy."

Silence.

"I've known him since the first grade" she said.

I didn't answer.

Lying in bed that night, I was thinking about it. Great, now I feel like a horrible monster who will steal her friend's crush. I mean, she has known him for longer, and she liked him first. It's really unfair.

But towards whom?...


	6. A love note and the spy talk

The next day in school was more than weird.

While walking to school, I suddenly remembered that it's February 14th. Valentine's Day. It was my favorite holiday (if you can call it holiday) ever since I was young, and every time, on this exact day, something amazing happened. Once, a guy I used to like asked me out. The other time my best friends threw a huge surprise party for me, and up till now I have no idea why they did that, but it was fun. So, there are no doubts that something good will happen to me today.

In homeroom, my teacher gave me a small, sealed note, saying that someone sent it to me. Excited, I went back to my seat, opening the note on the way. Shannon lifted her sight from a book she was reading.

"Cammie, I love you. Give me a sign." It said.

"Wow", I thought. "Short, sweet and to the point."

I flipped it, determined to find out who is the secret admirer who sent me the note. But it had no name, not even initials on it. Disappointed, I read the note over and over again, trying to guess who could send it to me.

As I kept staring at the note, Shannon asked, "Who is it from?"

"I don't know" I said.

"Can't you guess, based on their handwriting?"

She is smart.

"No, I have no idea. I'll figure it out." I answered.

At lunch, I showed the note to Andrea. Still thinking, she was chewing her sandwich, staring at the note in the exact same way I stared at it a couple of hours ago.

"Interesting," she said. "'Give me a sign'? Did you try to compare the handwriting? "

What is it; everyone in this world is smarter than me? And I am supposedly a future spy.

"No," I said. "Not yet."

"Well, you should. I've got a good guess on who it might be."

"Ryan? I doubt it. He doesn't even look at me anymore."

She gave me a meaningful look. "Doesn't look at you, huh? Turn around."

I turned around, noticing that Ryan, sitting right behind me, immediately looked away. I was puzzled. Maybe it was him, after all.

"I don't know, Andrea."

"Well then start thinking about that, because he clearly likes you."

But I was far from being satisfied with this answer. I needed evidence, and I was determined to get it.  
It's not supposed to be hard- after all, we're in the same history class. All I have to do is throw a careless look at his notebook, and see if it has the same handwriting as the note. Not that hard, I can do it.

When the bell rang, I was so nervous, that I kept dropping my pencil, making everyone staring at me. "It's alright." I told myself over and over again. The thing I was the most afraid of is that the handwriting won't be the same. Of course, he could fake it, but still. If it's not him, then I just don't know who was it.

Slowly and carefully, I turned my head to the left, crossing my eyes on Ryan's notebook. I couldn't see what he was writing, so I moved a little closer, crossing my eyes again. Okay, it hurts. But I still couldn't see his handwriting. I probably should give up this whole idea, it's really stupid, and besides…

"Cameron? Do you feel alright?" I heard the teacher saying.

Everyone looked at me. Horrified, I found myself bending over my desk, as I am about to vomit, but towards Ryan. I was half an inch from his shoulder.

I quickly returned to a normal position.

"Darn it, damn, damn, damn, damn, damn!" I kept repeating in my head. Why did I do it?

Towards the end of the class, the teacher announced that we can work in groups on our homework assignment. I was still terrified by the incident, so I was surprised when five minutes later I found myself in Ryan's group.

As usual, I kept doodling in my notebook, suddenly realizing that Ryan sat right next to me. I looked around- no one seemed to watch me; moreover- everyone looked like they've already forgotten about what happened. Better for me.

I tried my luck again. Ryan was copying the assignment from the board, without looking at me. I looked at his notebook, happy that it's close enough for me to see something, and…

"Cameron McKinley, please report to the main office."

Shocked, I looked around. My history teacher wrote me a pass, and gave it to me.  
Trying to guess what was it that I did, I got up of my seat and grabbed my books. Ryan threw a look at me.

As I went through the hallways, the school seemed very different- quiet, first of all. No one is screaming, no one running, promising to rip your head off. After all, I might even like this school. Just a little bit.  
I entered the main office and saw my aunt Louise waiting for me there. "Cameron, I am taking you home. I have important news to tell you."

Happy to get out of school earlier, yet a little scared for what news might wait for me at home, I crawled into her car as she drove me home.  
"This better be good" I thought to myself. Because of her, I still didn't figure out Ryan's handwriting.

As soon as we entered the house, she locked the doors and shut the windows, opening the water in the kitchen to cover the noise of the following conversation. All this could only mean one thing- _spy_ talk.

Aunt Louise was one of the only members of our family who knew that my parents are spies. We decided that we could not trust the whole family, because it's just huge, and besides- if someone figures out my parents' relation to the whole family, they will come for my uncles, aunts, grandparents and cousins, trying to get all the information they need. Sounds creepy, I know. Mom told my brother our secret, taking a word from him that he won't tell anyone. But even if he would- who would believe? Hearing "My parents are spies" from a twenty- year old guy in college, who studies brain defects is rather unusual. My aunt Louise is just a different person. She watches so many soap operas, that it seems that it's the only thing she cares about. Well, aside from me. She would never tell anyone. She keeps it a secret, and my parents trust her.

She checked that all the windows are closed, thick curtains covering them, and sat down. She looked stressed, trying to gather strength to tell me something. I was afraid of what might follow.

"What happened?" I asked.

She looked at me, then looked down again, and slowly and quietly said:

"Cammie, your parents are missing."


	7. The secret room

Absolutely shocked, I sat down, opposing her. This never happened before, my parents were the best spies I knew, considering the fact that they were the _only_ spies I knew.

"How…But…When…Where?" Terrified, I barely could talk.

"I don't know how and I don't know where," she said, "I only know it from this morning".

"But how do you know?"

"I am not as stupid as you think I am, Cammie. Their marriage rings have microchips that show me where they are, whenever. You parents agreed to wear them, as in case of the emergency there has to be someone to know about it. Today morning, they disappeared from my electronic map. They didn't die," she added quickly as she saw the horror on my face, "The microchips would've survived even if they died. I guess they just entered a zone too far away for me to catch their signal, meaning the polar zone. I have no idea what would they be doing there. Most of the chances are that they are together now, as both of them are missing. Yesterday it showed that…" she lowered her tone even more, "they are in the northern part of Alaska. Cammie, I don't know why I am telling you all this, after all you can't do anything about it. Remember, it will be alright. Your parents are the best spies ever."

"I hope," I sobbed. "But what am I supposed to do now?"

"Your homework", she said in a casual tone, opening the windows and turning the water off. "Cammie, I know you are scared – probably even more than me. But give them a couple of days, I am sure they will find their way out."

"A couple of days?" I yelled. "They could already be _dead_ in a couple of days!"

"For god's sake Cameron, stop screaming!"

I ran upstairs. And after all this I am supposed to concentrate on my homework? She must be kidding me. I threw the books on the floor, falling on my bed, tears covering my face. Where could they be? In Alaska? How will I even _get_ to Alaska? How can I be sure that they are there? How will I find them, what if they are already in Norway?"…

With all those questions filling me up, I didn't even notice when I fell asleep. When I woke up two hours later, I went downstairs to grab a snack. As I threw a look at our dining table, I saw a note which was sealed and placed under a cup of coffee. I opened it up.

"Cammie, I am gone. I'll try to save your parents, don't let it worry you too much though. Dinner is in the microwave, I believe that you are a responsible girl and you won't do anything stupid while I am away.  
P.S.- don't forget your mother's number one law- don't ever, under any circumstances, enter her room. Your loving aunt Louise."

As soon as I finished reading the note, I went upstairs to my mom's room. I have to mention that it was a zone that no one was allowed to enter, except for my parents. When someone came over, this room was locked and the door was covered with curtains. As a child I thought that they did it because they had presents for my birthday in their room, and they didn't want me to see. When I shared this idea with them, they didn't deny it, so I preferred to think about the room in this way. I guess that I was wrong. What can she have there? Curiosity was killing me from the inside as I slowly climbed the stairs.

I opened the door. Somehow my parents forgot to lock it. "That's really strange", I thought.  
I looked around. Honestly, I was really disappointed – the room had nothing outstanding that I could've expected for it to have. I walked towards the mirror by my mom's bed and looked at myself. Too tall. Too skinny. I certainly didn't like myself. While I was making faces to the mirror and trying to make my hair look a little but more normal, I accidently pushed the vase that was standing on my mom's night table. The vase fell, but didn't break. I carefully picked it up and was about to place it where it was before as I noticed that the room changed – what was an innocent bookshelf before, slid aside and opened another room, twice the size of the bedroom.

Excited, I entered the room. It seemed very different from the bedroom; in fact, it wasn't like any room I saw in my life so far. It was filled with bookshelves; but instead of books, there were weird tools that I've never seen before. They looked like…In fact, what did they look like?

Slowly, I moved towards one of the desks. I picked up a tiny packet that was very soft. Curiosity was beating inside of me, so I opened up the packet. What filled it was a green slimy substance. It felt very natural to try and touch it, so I did. My fingers immediately glued to the slime and I could not get them out, no matter how hard I tried. As I accidently hit the wall trying to get my fingers out of the slime, it glued to the wall, together with my fingers. "Great", I thought. That's how I wanted my aunt and parents to find me when they come back home- with fingers glued to a wall of a secret room that I'm not supposed to go into. "_IF_ they will come back", I thought with sorrow.

With all my strength I lift the fingers from the wall and it actually came out pretty easily, surprisingly. I touched the wall again with the slime and realized that it would be a very useful thing for wall climbing or something- knowing my mom, I assumed that that's what it was.

"Cammie, I rang the doorbell ten times, didn't you hea…" –I heard someone's voice cut off. I turned around. Ryan stood at the entrance, trying to digest the existence of the room.

"What are you doing here?" I asked, horrified.

"I just came to… the homework…social studies…if you…" he mumbled.

After fifteen minutes of trying to realize what was he talking about, I mumbled back:

"Yeah… You can have it".

I was afraid to leave the room and leave him here alone; Ryan understood it and left the room first. We entered my room; I quickly searched between the papers on my desk and gave him the worksheet that he wanted.

"Eh, thanks, I…"

I kept the silence.

"Cammie, what is all this supposed to mean? What was that room all about? Are you like a spy or something?"

I didn't know what to explain, how to, and where to start. "What difference will it make," I thought, "if Ryan will know." I could trust him. Besides, someone needs to know about it; my future absence from school has to be explained in some way, and Ryan could help me with that.

Briefly, I explained that my parents are spies. Briefly, that is- I don't really know how you can summarize something like that. Ryan was silent for the whole time and did not interrupt, which I thought was a bad sign. "Now he'll turn around and run away", I thought. He probably thinks that I'm crazy.

But it didn't happen. Instead, when I finished the "lecture", his face got very serious.

"I am coming with you." He said.

I knew I should've not told him all this. Great, now what am I going to do?

"Ryan, listen, you can't come, it's between me and my parents, and besides; you will be at great risk there…"

"Me. At great risk." He smiled slightly. "Cam, first of all I know karate. And you should know that. _You _will be the one in danger, and I have to come along to make sure you are safe…"

_I am wasting time. I have to take him._

"Well, what about school? You will be marked absent and fail for the year, and then…".

"So are you. And if I were you, school would be the last thing I would worry about right now." He said quietly.

_Not a lie._

"Alright then, I'll just... Pack some things...", I said, slightly blushing.

"Do you have any idea where your parents are? And how are you going to get there?"

"Good question", I thought. Seriously, how will I?

"Well, my aunt said that according to the last update she got, they are in Alaska. But we cannot be sure."

Ryan lowered his head, thinking about the situation.

"I'll run home for a couple of minutes. Have to pack some stuff, maybe I will find something useful. See you in a few."

"Yeah…Alright…" I mumbled.

Ryan went downstairs and I heard the door slamming. Is he going to come back? He promised.

I entered the mystery room again, deciding that if I'm going on an official mission of saving my parents, I should have some spy stuff that they, as I realized, keep in this room. It's not that it's considered stealing, after all- it's for a good will. And besides, who knows. Maybe I might never find them and won't come back…


	8. More spies and secret stuff

As I brought a backpack and opened it I started loading it with weird tolls I found in the secret room. There were: a slime that I discovered would be very useful for wall climbing; a fancy-looking hand watch that had lots of buttons on it; when I pressed them, I found out that the watch combined an electronic GPS map, radio, phone, secret camera and a special mirror to see what is going on behind you- basically, it could do everything except for telling you time. I also found a weird-looking bug that was crawling up and down the bookshelf; I got disgusted at first; but then I saw that the bag is lacking legs- it seemed to move by itself, and had a tiny spot on its back. After several minutes of trying to realize what it might be, I carefully picked up the bug and placed on my hand. It immediately stopped moving and seemed to freeze, as I saw that the spot on its back is getting bigger and actually looks like a tiny camera lens. "So it's a robot bug", I thought. Might be useful to distract someone, and to screen them later using the signals from the camera. Not bad.

"Hey, I'm back." Ryan entered the room.

I grabbed some more things from the desk nearby and closed the backpack.

"Well, alright then, I have some things and I guess we can just…em..."

"Yeah… I'll just…"

It seemed wrong to leave, not knowing when, if ever, I will come back. I went around the house, trying to remember every tiny detail of it. The way the pictures were on the wall. The coffee table that never serves for coffee, but rather for people's feet. The supposedly white curtains that already turned gray since my mom didn't have a clue on how to wash them. I entered the basement. It was rather cold, as usual. "Maybe there will be a secret passage here or something." I thought. Like in spy movies. There would be a hidden helicopter here, and the roof will open up so that it will be able to fly through, and then…

"Cammie? Where are you?" I heard Ryan calling from the upstairs.

"I am in the basement" I screamed back. "Come down here."

I heard footsteps as Ryan came downstairs.

"What's wrong? Why are you here? Let's go, Cam…"

"No. I can't explain it, but I have a feeling that…I don't know."

Ryan carefully searched the basement. "Nothing here seems unusual to me," he said.

I slowly went towards one of the walls. There was a big beautiful picture of our whole family on it. The picture was framed and put exactly in the middle of the wall, but it was hanging very low- almost touching the floor. I always wondered why is it that way, but mom never answered my question. I carefully touched the picture, and…nothing happened.

Trying to hide the shade of disappointment I slowly turned to Ryan. He came closer and looked at the picture for quite a long time. Then, he carefully lifted it and removed from the wall, as we both gasped. It revealed a secret passage.

Literally, there was a huge hole in the wall, but I preferred to think about it as a secret passage. After all, I am a spy.

"Wow, Cammie, this is awesome!" said Ryan.

"I wonder where it goes." I said, thinking.

"Probably just to the yard." He replied. "But we can find out. I'll go first, alright?"

So sweet. He still wants to defend me.

Ryan carefully crawled into the hole, which seemed to be the perfect size for him- would he have been 2 inches taller, and he wouldn't be able to fit there. I crawled on my knees right after him.

We both expected it to be a short tunnel to the outside of the house, but it seemed to be very long, for we kept going on for at least fifteen minutes until we finally saw light. We, that is- Ryan did, as I was right behind him.

As soon as we reached the end of the tunnel, Ryan fell somewhere, releasing a short "ouch". I fell right on top of him, realizing that both of us are on a big, comfortable couch.

Shocked, we looked around. We were in a huge room that looked like a secret base for scientific engineering or something- there were lots, and I mean LOTS of computers. The place had a very high ceiling and was entirely gray- it seemed to be made of some sort of metal. Some of the desks were covered with weird tools, similar to the ones I found in my mom's secret room. At least twenty people were running across the room, and as soon as they noticed me and Ryan (noticed, that is- it's kinda hard not to notice two teenagers falling from a hole in a wall. Not a lie), they all ran towards us. The biggest one of them, who seemed to be a security guard, grabbed Ryan and yelled:

"Who sent you here? How did you find the place? Answer me!"

"He doesn't know anything!" I cried. I found a secret passage in the basement of my house which led here, and…"

"Secret passage? How old do you think I am, five?"

"Wait a minute," said a calm voice.

The crowd slowly separated as a very tall, middle-aged woman came through. "Cammie? Are you Cammie?"

"Yes", I said in a quiet voice, surprised that she knows my name.

"I suppose that you were informed that your parents are missing? Who informed you? How did you get here?"

"I…" it seemed wrong to explain them something. In my opinion, me and Ryan needed some explanations about the place.

"Who are you?" I asked.

"You are not the one to ask questions here!" The security guy yelled at me again.

"For god's sake, Gustav, calm down!" The woman screamed at him. "Cammie, I guess you deserve some explanations. Come with me."

The woman slowly turned around, ordering me to follow her. Ryan was about to come with us, but the woman suddenly stopped.

"Who is he? We can't trust strangers."

"He is not a stranger," I replied angrily. "He is my friend."

Ryan lifted his head and looked straight at me, but he seemed sad. He lowered his head again.

The woman examined Ryan from head to toes until she finally said:

"Well. Alright then."

We followed her as she walked through a huge auditorium, into a fairly big room that looked like a meeting room. There was a very long table with many comfortable chairs on each side of it and a glass of water near every seat. Some five or six people were there, until we joined them.

"Amanda darling, who are they?" asked a middle-aged man dressed in a suit.

"One more time you call me "darling", Anthony, and you will get fired from this job. Is this clear?"

The man lowered his head and turned away.

"Sit down." The woman ordered. "And remember, you are not here to touch anything."

Ryan and I carefully sit next to each other, and the woman placed herself at the head of the table. She held a specific remote control, and when she started pressing buttons on it, the doors closed, the windows shut and the cameras spun away. This somewhat reminded me of out "spy talks" at home, just that we didn't have fancy remotes to close the doors.

"Alright," said the woman, who now looked to us as the boss of the meeting. "Let the explanations begin."


	9. I am going on a mission

I leaned closer and prepared to listen.

"I suppose you already you know that your parents are spies," Amanda started. "They work for our organization, and they are one of the best spies we have. You should be proud of them."

I am! I just want to find them. I hope I will be able to…

But I decided not to interrupt the woman. She seemed very ambitious.

"A couple of days ago we received a call. In north Sweden five people went missing in three days. All of them, strangely enough, were in one way or another connected to our organization."- She pointed to the huge letters on one of the walls- it spelled NSOBS.

"What does it stand for?" I asked.

"National Secret Organization of Best Spies", she replied. "This emblem is found on every single tool and even worker in this building."

I studied the letters. They were circled, with a single horizontal line in the background. Not that complicated.

"Anyways, your parents have been working for us for over fifteen years. A couple of days ago they have been sent to Sweden to find the missing people and find out what is going on there."

Suddenly I remembered my afternoon conversation with aunt Louise.

"Wait a second, north Sweden? How is that possible? My aunt told me that they are in Alaska – "

"Cammie, not even your aunt would know your parents' real location. We have to keep it confidential, even from family members. Otherwise it would've been too dangerous for both." She looked at me. "As to you, I don't even know why I'm telling you this. I hope you are not planning on going to save them. You are just a girl."

Logic like that simply freaks me out. So what if I am a girl? So what if I'm fifteen? And so what if I am failing algebra? Does it mean I can't be a spy?

"But, my aunt! She told me that she's going to Alaska to look for them – "

"Your aunt will be fine. As far as we're concerned, there's nothing dangerous going on in Alaska right now. She'll just be disappointed from not finding them there, that's all, and then she'll come back…"

"Disappointed? We are family! I can't just…"

"Cammie, we can't risk you getting involved! You are a child, what if you get hurt? Or killed? Or go missing, like your parents? We sent our best spies to look for them right after receiving the news, and we will do everything to find them, there's no need to worry right now. They are just out of the zone for us to catch their signal."

"No! I won't just sit here and wait till they come back! What if they never do?"

"Cammie, there's a great risk that…"

"I don't care about the risk, okay? I don't care getting hurt. They are my parents. I have to find them. And I suppose that being born to two outstanding, as you mentioned, spies, I am perfectly capable of doing that." I stated angrily.

Amanda calmly got off the chair, and left the room. I guess I crossed the line, but I made my point clear. I'm not leaving till I see my parents.

She soon came back, three men surrounding her. They rushed towards us.

"Cammie, listen. I know you want to save your parents, you obviously care about them. But you have to understand that the risks are just huge. It's not about finding them, you might get hurt or killed on the way. You are a teenager. Are you sure you want to do it? Are you sure you can?"

Do I want to do it? Heck, yeah. But can I? I wasn't sure.

"Yes, I will do it", I looked at Ryan. He gently smiled, approving.

"It's a risk…"

"_I will do it._"

Amanda raised her eyebrow, but didn't continue arguing.

"But how am I going to get there? I mean I barely know where they are…"

"Don't worry about it. We will supply you with everything you need. As to their location, I told you already that they're in Sweden. A submarine will take you to England, and from there you'll get to Sweden by a private plane, moving through Europe very slowly."

Submarine? Private plane? Am I going to save my parents or the President?

"The reason you can't just go there directly by plane," explained the woman, reading my mind, "is because the Swedish government keeps track of everyone coming in and leaving the country. If a girl comes in a private helicopter barely 24 hours after her spy parents got missing, it will be very suspicious. We provide you a longer, and therefore a safer way. You will receive a secret identity- from now on, your name is Lisa Anderson, and you are in Sweden for educational purposes. So far, is this clear?"

"Yes."

"Your friend Ryan is Carl Dawson. You two are so-called exchange students and you are going to stay at Robinson family- they are involved in our organization and they know what they are expected to do. They are also aware of the risks they are taking, so don't do anything stupid."

I nodded.

"You will be given 4 days exactly to do the best you can. After this period of time is over, we will send more people to look for you, if we don't get any signals from you and your partner."

Ryan's eyes couldn't get any wider. He was staring at the woman, looking completely lost. I imagined the amount of information he received in those twenty minutes, considering that he never knew about spy stuff, except for in movies. I would've been shocked, too.

Amanda handed us two cellphones.

"We have cellphones already," I raised my eyebrow.

The people surrounding us laughed.

"Cellphones? You kiddos have no idea what you are talking about. Show them, Amanda," said one of the workers with a sarcastic smile.

"This technology combines the functions of everything you can ever dream of," said the woman, still laughing. "Aside from the ability to call us in case of emergency, it senses your location wherever you are, so you will never get lost. It also has the last version of GPS using which you can spot anyone and anything your heart desires. When you plug this cellphone to the submarine or the plane you are in, it will automatically take you to the chosen location. It can survive extreme temperature and altitude changes, it doesn't burn in fire and can operate in subzero temperatures. And under water, of course. It takes high definition pictures with ability to zoom in up to a thousand times, and recreate them in three-dimensional version. It stores up to a million GB of files which you can restore at any time and location. It obviously has access to internet, wherever you are. It also can transform itself to a tiny bug which sticks to walls and ceilings and records its environment. In other words… this thing is a miracle." Amanda explained.

I looked at the apparatus again. Now it just seemed as some kind of joke.

Amanda gave us more weird tools, in which I recognized some from what I saw in my mom's secret room.

"This spray will paralyze a person it is sprayed at. It has a safety cup, but still be careful not to aim it at yourselves…This you put on your shoes, it's excellent for wall climbing, but don't forget to take it off, or you'll stick to the ground…This is for breathing in the water, it can be reused up to a hundred times without refilling…" continued Amanda, giving us the things. "All these will be stored in a special backpack which you need to carry on your back. The construction is very light so you don't have to worry about running or swimming with it. It also survives fire, ice and great pressures."

Ryan and I received the backpacks and put them on.

"But remember…" Amanda lowered her tone.

Ryan and I waited.

"Don't mess with the best," she said. "You are still inexperienced. Be _very_ careful. We really don't want you to get hurt.

"How do we know who are the best? Do they have an identity tag or something?" Ryan joked.

Amanda threw a burning look at him.

"You'll know." She said.

"Thank you," I said. "We'll try out best, right?"

Ryan nodded.

Finally, Amanda gave both of us a tiny emblem of the company. "This is for luck", she explained.

I smiled.

The security guard pushed a button next to the entrance, and several floor tiles slid aside, opening up a big hole. Amanda ordered us to jump there, which we did. We then found ourselves sitting on something rather soft, when something feeling like seatbelts quickly fastened over us, and we heard the engine started working. It was still dark, though, so I couldn't see where we were.

"Good luck," Amanda said. "You'll need it…"


End file.
